Explosive-engine starter



L. N. RIES.

EXPLOSIVE ENGINE STARTER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 31, 1917.

1,33 ,159, Patented. Apr. 27,1920.

LOUIS N. 'RIES, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

EXPLOSIVE-ENGINE STARTER.

Specification of Letters Patent. Pat nted Apr. 27, 1920.

Application filed March 31 1917. Serial No. 159,018.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, Louis N. Bins, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kansas City, county of Jackson and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Explosive-Engine tjtarters, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to explosive engine starters 'of that class in which an explosion is produced in an auxiliary cylinder or chamber, and my object is to produce a starting mechanism of the type mentioned in which the force of the explosion is transmitted directly into the cylinder of the engine in which the piston is positioned to make its firing stroke, and a further object is to produce a starting mechanism of the character last mentioned which can be operated by the driver while seated in the car. With these general objects in view the invention consists in certain novel and peculiar features of construction and combinations of parts, as hereinafter described and claimed, and in order that the invention may be fully understood reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1, is a fragmentary elevation of an explosive engine equipped with a starting mechanism embodying my invention, said mechanism being shown partly in side elevation and partly in vertical longitudinal section.

Fig. 2, is a vertical longitudinal section on an enlarged scale of the auxiliary cylinder wherein the explosion is produced, and of certain parts associated therewith.

Fig. 3, is a fragmentary section on the dotted line III of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4, is a view of the same character as Fig. l, but showing a modified form of the starting mechanism.

Fig. 5, is a plan view of the timing mechanism forming a part of the construction shown by Fig. 4.

Fig. 6, is an enlarged sectional view showing the type of check valve employed between the auxiliary cylinder and one of the regular cylinders of the engine.

In the said drawing, 1 indicates a suitable support, such as the dash of a motor car, and secured thereto-preferably under the housing, not shown, of the engine, is an air cylinder 2, provided with a spout 3 having a check valve 4 opening to pressure from the cylinder and closing by gravity.

The spout extends, down into a charge of gasolene standing in a gasolene tank 5, and said tank is connected by a pipe 6 with an explosion chamber or cylinder 7, pipe 6 being equipped with a check valve 8 which opens to pressure from the gasolene tank, so that when the piston 9 of the air cylinder 2, is operated by foot or hand power, the air shall be forced through the gasolene and thus carbureted, pass into the cylinder 7, valve 8 opening for such passage and immediately closing when the pressure in the cylinder or chamber 7 is equal to that in the tank. The cylinder 7 is provided. with a discharge passage 10 in communication with an annular channel 11 in a rotary distributer 12 provided with a discharge opening 13, and mounted on the end of a shaft 1 1, connected by intermeshing gear wheels 15 and 16 with a shaftv 17 driven by a sprocket gear 18, from the crank shaft, not shown, of'the engine, the opposite end of shaft 17 being journaled in cylinder 7 and in a suitable bearingbracket 19 secured to the engine.

The cylinder is preferably cast with an extension or shelf 20 upon which the distributer rotates and the opening 13 of the distributer is adapted for successive engagement with a series of passages 21, leading respectively to the cylinder and provided adjacent each of the cylinders with a check valve 22, which closes to pressure from the engine cylinder and opens to pressure from the auxiliary cylinder, so that when communication is established between the latter and one of the cylinders of the engine through the respective passage 21, the force of an explosion in the former shall be transmitted through said passage to the engine cylinder and thus impart movement to the piston 23 thereof, which movement of course is transmitted through the crank shaft to the other pistons of the engine. When the engine is operating and the regular explosions in the cylinders thereof occur, the checkvalves 22 prevent the force of such explosions being transmitted back to the auxiliary cylinder.

The valve 22 is held preferably by a light spring S, seated with the pressure generated by an explosion in the engine cylinder and against the pressure of an explosionin the auxiliary cylinder. The particular type of check valve is unimportant provided it functions as above described.

The auxiliary cylinder is provided with an opening 24 for an exhaust valve 25 held Said rod is provided with a head or handle 30 by which the operator can advance it to withdraw the bell crank lever 26 from engagement with the stem of valve 25 and thereby permit the latterto be seated by the action of its spring 27. The slide rod has sulli'cient range of movement to cause it to make contact through an arm 31 with a contact terminal at the end of a circuit wire 32 leading to a spark coil 32 and to the wall of the auxiliary cylinder 7 secondary wiring 32", leading to the terminals of a spark plug 33 secured in said auxiliary cylinder in any suitable manner, a battery 34 being in circuit with wire32. When the arm 31 is in contact with the terminal of wire 32 as suggested, a circuit is completed from the battery through wire 32, the spark coil 32, arm 31, red 28, bell crank lever 26, and the cylinder 7 to the spark coil and through the latter along the other end of wire 32 to the battery. The completion of the primary circuit through the spark coil, induces a circuit through the secondary winding of such coil and a spark at the terminals of the spark plug within the auxiliary cylinder. When pressure on rod 28 is removed, the primary circuit is broken through the use of a spring 35 bearing at its opposite ends against a bearing 29 and a collar 36 on rod 28; Almost simultaneously with the return of the rod 28 to its initial position, the spring-actuated lever 26 effects the unseating of the exhaust valve 25 to facilitate the escape of the burned or exhaust gases.

The force of the explosion in the cylinder 7 is transmitted through the distributer and the passage 21 with. which the distributer opening registers to the engine cylinder con taining the piston at that time ready to be forced back by an explosion.

If the engine is not started by a single charging of cylinder 7 and an explosion of the gases therein, the charging and firing actions being repeated as many times as necessary to start the engine. For convenience the drawing shows the passages 21 in the form of pipes and the cylinder 7 spaced substantially from and separately formed with respect to the engine cylinders, but it will be understood that the practical method of producing the cylinder 7 and the passages will be to cast the engine with an auxiliary explosion chamber connected by passages to each engine cylinder, with the passages controlled by suitable valves and a distributer whereby the force of the explosion can be properly directed.

In Fig. 4, the starting mechanism is of the same construction as regards the parts 1 to 6 inclusive, the discharge pipe 6 for the tank being provided with branches 37 leading respectively to auxiliary explosion chambers or cylinders 38 which in all essentials correspond to cylinder 7 except that they lack the distributer and the means for driving same, as a distributer is not needed where an auxiliary cylinder is provided for each engine cylinder. The cylinders 38 are connected by pipes 39, which correspond to with check valves 40, corresponding to check valves 22. Each cylinder 38 is provided with an exhaust valve, a bell crank lever for normally holding the exhaust valve open, and a single rod 41 correspond-- ing to red 28, is pivotally connected at 42 to all of the bell crank levers of cylinder 38 for operating the same simultaneously. The rod 41 is also provided with a contact arm 43 corresponding to arm'31 and adapted to contact with the terminal of a wire 44 in circuit with a battery 45.

The battery is in circuit with a timing mechanism of any suitable character, that shown being constructed as follows: 46 is a shaft to be driven by and at the same speed as the cam shaft, not shown, of the engine, and mounted on the shaft 46 is an insulation plate 47 provided with a ring contact 48 at its underside, engaged by a brush 49 in circuit with the adjacent end of wire 44. The ring contact is also connected through the insulation. disk with a radially arranged contact plate 50 at the upper side of disk 47, and said plate once in each revolution of the disk 47, successively engages a series of four contacts 51 respectively connected by wires 52 to the spark coils 32, the secondary wiring of such coils being connected to the terminals of the spark plugs 53 in cylinders 38.' The contact will be made to correspond with the firingorder of the cylinders, and as the timer rotates at half the speed of the engine shaft, it will. be obvious that as the rod 41 is operated as described with respect to rod 28, a spark will be produced in the cylinder 38 connected to the engine cylinder in which the piston occupies firing position. It will be obvious with the construction shown by 4, that all of the cylinders 38 must be simul taneously charged with gas and that if the engine fails to start under the power of the explosion in a single cylinder, the operator can instantly effect a second, third, and fourth explosion if necessary, by a corresponding number of manipulations of rod 41, without reoperating the pump 9. With the construction shown by Fig. 1, it is of passages 21, and like the latter are equipped V course necessary to recharge the cylinder 7 for each explosion.

From the above description it will be apparent that I have produced an engine starter possessing the features of advantage enumerated as desirable, and while I have illustrated and described the two embodiments of the invention which at this time appear the most practicable, it is to be understood that I reserve the right to make any changes in construction or arrangement of the parts of the invention falling within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim: I

1. The combination with an internal combustion engine, of an auxiliary cylinder connected to a cylinder of the engine, a check valve between the auxiliary cylinder and the cylinder of the engine adapted for opening to pressure from the former and closing under pressure from the engine cylinder, means for charging the auxiliary cylinder with an explosive mixture, a check valve between said means and the auxiliary cylinder to open under pressure from the former and close under pressure from the latter, a spark plug in said auxiliary cylinder, a normally open exhaust valve for the auxiliary cylinder, and means for effecting the closure of said valve and the making and breaking of an electric circuit through said spark plug.

2. The combination with an internal combustion engine, of an auxiliary cylinder connected to a cylinder of the engine, a check valve between the auxiliary cylinder and the cylinder of the engine adapted for opening to pressure from the former and close under pressure from the engine cylinder, means for charging the auxiliary cylinder with an explosive mixture, a check valve between said means and the auxiliary cylinder to open under pressure from the former and close under pressure from the latter, a spark plug in said auxiliary cylinder, a normally open exhaust valve for the auxiliary cylinder, means for effecting the closure of said valve and the making and breaking of an electric circuit through said spark plug, and a spring for reopening the exhaust valve after the said circuit has been made and broken.

3. The combination with an internal combustion engine, of an auxiliary cylinder connected to a cylinder of the engine, a check valve between the auxiliary cylinder and the cylinder of the engine adapted for opening to pressure from the former and closing under pressure from the engine cylinder, means for charging the auxiliary cylinder with an explosive mixture, a check valve between said means and the auxiliary cylinder to open under pressure from the former and close under pressure from the latter, a spark plug in said auxiliary cylinder, an exhaust valve for the auxiliary cylinder, a spring tending to seat said valve, a spring actuated lever normally holding the valve unseated, a slide rod for operating said lever to per mit said valve to close, and electric circuit connections to the spark plug whereby contact of the slide rod with one of said circuit contacts after said rod shall have effected the closing of said exhaust valve, shall complete said circuit and produce a spark in said auxiliary cylinder when the said circuit is broken.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.-

LoUis N. RIES. 

